


faulty prescriptions

by lovebvg



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bisexual Oikawa Tooru, Bottom Oikawa Tooru, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, My OC is bad at feelings, Oblivious Oikawa Tooru, Oikawa Tooru is Bad at Feelings, Slow burn but not a slow burn, teenage hormones are ;), volleyball is NOT the main plot thank you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29535066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovebvg/pseuds/lovebvg
Summary: In which Baisho Raiden's contact prescription gets mixed up, unknowingly resulting in ruining a game for the most popular setter in Aoba Johsai.---Eventually, the bleeding stops, and Raiden is left gently wiping at the stained skin of Oikawa’s lips, both holding their breaths the whole way through. Quietly, the artist finishes washing his hands and turns back to the now timid brunet. There’s a blush spread from his cheeks, to across his puffy nose to over his swollen mouth, and Raiden can’t help but breathe, “Pretty.”The murmur is loud in his ears, and when Oikawa’s head snaps up like lightning Raiden flounders with stammers, “I-I-I mean!! Uhhh—“ Oikawa would laugh at the way the teen was flopping around if he weren’t still trying to save himself from doing the same thing. “You wanted to talk?!?” The holographic blond nearly shouts, his voice cracking and he flinches, but Oikawa doesn’t notice.Instead, the setter shoots up from his seat on the sink counter and creates some difference, his hand flying behind his neck, “Ummm yeah!! About that...” Oikawa takes a deep breath and runs his other hand down his face, “I wanna date.”
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> a/n i'm a complete n00b at honorifics, but i tried. so i'm sorry in advance if it bothers anyone! also keep in mind, i dont wear glasses or contacts. i did research, but really, just tell me what i'm doing wrong here lmao

RAIDEN walks down the street with a spring to his step, his crystal blue eyes skimming the people as they pass by. He fights the sudden urge to sit and draw when he sees a crazy looking lady with purple streaks in her hair and an arrangement of colorful tattoos winding up her arms. She looks to be a bit on the older side, and Raiden finds himself even more intrigued, but then he catches sight of another interesting figure and his attention is pulled away. This happens like clockwork until the teen makes it to the place he was heading. The pharmacy.

It's a small corner shop, not too far from home or school, and easy enough for the platinum-blonde to walk in and out of. Or at least he should, but nothing is ever that easy when it comes to Baisho Raiden. The boy's eyes wander the small store to look at things he's seen a million times before, and yet always catches himself staring at again and again. Odd toilet products and weird medicines for ailments Raiden's already overly active imagination can't even think up. Eventually, he comes to the prescription desk and is greeted by Dr. Saiko, a short lady in her mid-forties who's often spotted sporting an eccentrically colored hair accessory. Today it's a neon pink ribbon at the top of her neatly tied bun.

"Ah, Raiden-sama! I was wondering when you'd show," The stout woman idly grabs the last small paper bag on the counter behind her and hands it to the boy, who's gotten out his wallet with a bold smile. "Did you bring that painting?"

Raiden greets the woman equally as enthusiastic, "Hi, Dr. Saiko," he pulls out the required items to pay, then slings his large satchel bag in front of him, "Yeah, I have it right here." The boy pulls out a decent sized sketchbook and turns to the page, ripping it out and handing it to the woman. The [image](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3d/e1/32/3de132b40156129965d314949fcd3142.jpg) is scenery of a street in Tokyo, the watercolors dried in a runny, drippy way that leaves everything messy, but in the most beautiful, abstract way. The colors mesh and the people appear leisurely, the whole scene relaxing and gorgeous. The doctor gasps when she sees it and runs her fingers down the frames of the people. The action causes Raiden's smile to grow wider, proud to make another person happy.

"Oh! This is perfect, you've really outdone yourself this time. How did you say you did it again?"

The platinum-blonde chuckles, "I have a couple of friends who live down there. One of them called and described it for me to paint. It was a challenge, I liked it!" The woman just scoffs in disbelief, unable to take her eyes away. 

"Amazing," she drawls, "Really, to do this just from description? It's exactly how I remember it being as a kid. amazing." She seems to have snapped herself out of whatever walk down memory lane she was taking because the woman suddenly leaps towards the register and handles the payments in a flash. "Well, thank you so much, Raiden-chan, are you sure you don't want anything for it?!"

"None at all, consider it a gift. By now~" The boy waves and begins to make his way out, but once again stops a couple of times to look at a few peculiar items. Behind him, the short woman just laughs quietly to herself at the boy's distracted tendencies. 

By the time Raiden makes his way outside, ~~it took 10 minutes~~ , his phone starts to ring like crazy. He checks the caller ID answers with a sigh, "Yes, Kiyoko-chan?"

"Hey, you said you'd be here." His cousin's soft voice says, but even her monotonous tone has an obvious tinge of disappointment. 

Raiden huffs and subcontiously pouts, "Yeah I know, but my contacts expired last night and the earliest time I could pick up my new ones was now. You know I hate wearing my glasses," as if to prove a point, the bridge slides down his slim nose and the boy uses his middle finger to push it back up absentmindedly, "I'll be there in 5 minutes, okay?" He hears an annoyed huff on the other end, the small breath of air being the only indication of her feelings.

"It better be 5 minutes, don't get sidetracked, we're almost at the end of the second set. By the way things are going, it seems like there'll be a third, so hurry!"

Raiden smirks, even though she can't see it, and mocks an offended gasp, "Me? Getting sidetracked? Never."

"Rai-kun," the girl releases a small whine, and the boy can hear the sound of a whistle being blown faintly on the other side. He notes that the girl's voice has lowered significantly, and figured it's because she really shouldn't be on the phone. Nevertheless, Raiden drops his playfulness to assure her.

"I'll be there, okay? I'm walking up the steps as we speak, yeah?" It's true too, the boy actually set out on a jog when he heard how far along the game was. What can he say, he misses his cousin. "I just need to change into contacts and then I'm there, promise."

"Okay," Kiyoko whispers, then Raiden can hear a brazen voice on the other side calling out to the girl asking if she's speaking with a boy. Raiden chuckles as he pushes open the doors to the side building, wandering down the smaller hallway and into the bathroom. Kiyoko audibly exhales, "I gotta go, see ya."

"Bye." Raiden pushes open the doors of the men's bathroom and is greeted with another boy leaning over the sink, large framed rectangular glasses in hand. The boy barely gives the platinum-blonde a glance as he sets his glasses down neatly at the side and pops open his own contacts container. With one quick sweep across the boy's figure, Raiden can tell he's on the volleyball team. The teen couldn't put a finger on where else he's seen him from, but the thought loses him anyway when his interest dies down. 

_He's pretty hot though,_ Raiden does a scope of the teen's face, his sharp eyes but soft cheeks leaving an impression on Raiden's mind, one that he could've sworn he's seen before. Raiden rolls up the sleeves of his white blazer swiftly, forearms littered with freshly drawn patterns he'd done the night before. He washes his hands before removing his rounded glasses, the frames making his eyes appear softer than they are. Once the glasses are off, nearly everything is a blur. That's what happens when poor eyesight is a characterizing trait in the family. Raiden stares at his blurry face in the mirror for a moment, his slender hand reaching up to ruffle his white fringe. He can faintly see the holographic shine to it, and offhandedly reminds himself he needs a touch up soon. 

His frayed thoughts are thrown when the body next to him releases a soft groan. Knowing he wouldn't be able to see anything anyway, Raiden ignores it in favor of simply finishing the task at hand. Damn him for getting distracted again. He opens the paper bag and takes out what he needs, then puts the rest into his satchel. The boy next to him mutters something to himself in frustration. Something along the lines of cursing a new brand, Raiden isn't really sure but finds amusement in it anyhow. He releases a short snort and gets one contact ready, leaning his six-foot frame closer to the mirror for a better vantage point and pops it into his eye efficiently. The eye waters for a moment and Raiden expertly _ignores_ that as he pops in the other one. His vision clears up a bit but stays a little blurry up close, Raiden simply blows it off as being the unshed tears in his eyes like normal, thinking it'll go away in a minute. 

When Raiden blinks a couple of times and turns to the other boy, he sees that the brunet had also just finished and was putting his things into his school-issued athletic duffle bag. He's obviously in a rush, by the way he barely closely his glasses case before its shoved deep into a side pocket. Raiden is quick to put his things away too, and the platinum-blonde has half a mind to ask if they could walk down together because _holy fuck is he hot_ , but before the artist can even get the words out the volleyball player is shooting out the bathroom door and making his way down the hall.

Raiden pouts a bit as he steps out of the bathroom, but his small sullen attitude is short-lived when he realized he can simply speak to the boy after the games over. _I swear I know I've seen him before, how can I forget such a pretty face._ But he laughs at himself for the thought, because even he knows how scatter-brained he is sometimes. He travels up the stairs onto the overhead balcony for a birds-eye view, figuring it'd be the best place to watch _and_ do some quick sketches. There's bound to be some interesting scenes during a volleyball game, right?

When he finally does get within hearing range of the open gym he's met with girlish squeals and flinches, because he was not expecting a fanclub to attend a practice game. At least that's what Kiyoko said. The lack of crowd is what made Raiden agree to come anyway. He can't _stand_ the excited girls at the official matches, and now he guesses it doesn't matter if it's offical or not. Now, if only he could really figure out who they're all calling for... if his nonexistent attention span would allow him to at least that much.

"Look! It's Oikawa-senpai! AHHHH!!!" One of the _many_ girls repeats after the fourth time, and Raiden is pulled from his thoughts again just in time to see the boy from the bathroom standing behind the bench with a cocky smile on his lips. From where the platinum-blonde is sitting across the benches of his home team, the boy's face is still slightly blurred, but Raiden's familiar enough with his own cocky smile to recognize someone else's. There's a flicker of doubt with the blurriness that has Raiden questions if it _is_ the same teen from the bathroom, but when he rubs his eyes to try and clear them and he catches the brunet do the same contact itch rub, there can be no mistake.

It only takes a moment for Raiden to realize why he hadn't noticed the boy before. It’s because he wasn't swamped with the usual swarm of girls like in the hall or in their _class_. He was just a hot boy in the bathroom putting in his contacts, like Raiden. The artist rolls his eyes and expels his previous plan of talking to the boy, the idea of being thwarted by a group of horny girls very unappealing. He gets out his sketchbook and lucky pencil and tries his best to filter out the annoying screeching that gets louder every time Oikawa simply glances their way but that isn't what stops him from starting anything. Its the fact that he can barely look at the pencil in his hand without going cross-eyed to see straight.

Raiden groans and rubs his eyes again, a little rougher this time, but to no avail. The holographic-blonde fails to notice the popular boy on the ground below doing the same thing, he's having a hard time reading the scoreboard without squinting.

Finally giving up, and not wanting his eyes to go red and irritated from itching, the boy grabs his bag and takes out the brown paper bag his prescription came in, but the letters on the sticker are too small and too blurry for him to read. With a defeated huff, he looks around for someone nearby to help him. He avoids the small group of girls gathered in front of him screaming like weirdos because, _yeah_ , and finds a calmer looking pair a few seats over.

"Uh, excuse me," Raiden flashes a confident smile, his easy charm making the two second-year girls blush when they see the well-known artist speaking to them. He may not be Oikawa famous, but Raiden has made a name for himself to be the hot creator of the school, not like Raiden's distracted personality would ever come to realize that.

The girl closest to him speaks up first, "Yes, Beisho-senpai?" while her friend just waves shyly.

Raiden doesn't question how she knows his name, ~~like always~~ , and cuts straight to the point, ~~like always~~ , "Could you read this for me." He hands the girl the bag and points to the name at the top. But as soon as he hands it off both girls grow a look of shock and confusion.

"U-uh, it says Oikawa-senpai's name on here," the girl starts, then hesitantly hands the bag back, "Why do you have Oikawa-senpai's contacts?" But the question falls on deaf ears when Raiden turns away with a small scowl on his face.

_Damn_ , the blonde sighs to himself, looking over at the pretty setter as he misses his fourth consecutive set in a row, the ball slipping off his fingers. Oikawa grunts to himself again and brushes off the reassuring pat Iwaizumi tries to give him. The frustrated boy rubs at his eyes again until they're teary and red, but at this point, he's unsure if it's from his rough treatment or from his actual upset emotions. That's the play the puts him back on the bench for the remainder of the game, and ultimately determines their defeat.

Raiden drops his face into his hands as they perch on his knees, an annoyed groan escaping him as he tugs at his holographic locks. _I guess I'll be speaking to the hot boy after all._


	2. chapter one

BY the time the game ends, with Aoba Johsai’s defeat, ~~not like Raiden really cares~~ , he’d headed back to the bathroom and slipped his glasses back on. The teen made sure that the contacts he used were properly cleaned and put away, not that it really mattered, he’d already used them. 

The other students have begun to filter out, the small group of fangirls Raiden had the _pleasure_ of sitting behind was already on the hunt for their object of obsession, and the tall third year was content to just wait by the exit until the Karasuno team of crows had finished their small meeting. Aoba Johsai's players are stuck on cleanup duty, with them being the hosts of the game, but it comes to the platinum blonde's surprise when he hears a masculine voice call from across the gym.

"Rai-kun? What're you doing here?" Hanamaki calls, and Raiden turns to face the voice of his neighbor with a grin. He pushes himself off the doorway he'd been leaning on and steps closer, middle finger pushing at the bridge of his glasses again as it slips down his nose. 

He tilts his head, "Oh, I forgot you're on the team, Maki-chan," he starts as Hanamaki sweat drops, the spiker has known Raiden for three years and yet he still doesn’t remember seemingly important aspects of people, _geez._ Raiden ruffles a hand through his holographic tresses, "My cousin is Karasuno's manager, so I came to see. I caught the tail end of it, I'm surprised by how good they are." It's the truth, though his vision was blurry, Raiden couldn't deny that the orange ball of energy they have is a treat to watch.

"Wait, you're cousins with that hot manager?! Tough break," Hanamaki's face bursts with color for a moment when he catches the blonde's look, "Oh, um, s-sorry. Uh, anyway, yeah, I think we were taken aback by how much talent their first-years have. That number 9 and 10 have a killer quick attack." the pink-toned boy turns back to Raiden with a sheepish smile, only to find that the boy hasn't been listening at all and instead was sitting on the floor, sketching him.

"Oi, cut it out! You have the attention span of a two-year-old!" His screaming catches the attention of the team of crows, as well as a few linger Aoba Johsai players. The teal-wearing teens simply roll their eyes and go back to cleaning up, already familiar with their classmate's scatterbrain antics. Raiden makes an offhanded noise as a reply, his left hand moving diligently in swift flicks in order to capture the boy's irritated expression. The outside hitter just stares at the 18-year-old, his arms crossed in a defiant, familiar stance. It's been this way since the teen first moved in next door back in their first year.

Raiden finishes a few seconds later, then turns the pad around to show his friend with a vibrant show of teeth. The smile is so bold and confident that it takes Raiden a second to register Hanamaki's annoyed expression. "What?" he says, then makes a dejected noise when the boy in front of him huffs with a roll of his eyes and walks off.

"Raiden-nii?" Kiyoko addresses, the girl had witnessed the entire exchange with blank eyes. She's grown immune to the boy's skittery thoughts and has successfully figured out ways to muscle through them. Not showing any interest in the boy's antics is one of them.

The platinum-blonde turns to his cousin and stands, putting away his supplies and brushing off his uniform quickly, "Ki-chan~ I missed you!" The boy's smooth voice slips through effortlessly and it's enough to make the raven-haired girl shyly smile. Raiden does have that opening effect. The raven-haired female greets the teen with a short hug, their embrace brief but meaningful. The third-year captain and co-captain of the Karasuno team greet Raiden with a familiar wave and smile, for they've briefly met the artist before.

Raiden sees Sugawara and smirks, his bold charm making an appearance, "Hi Suga-kunnn, your hair is looking a little shorter, did you cut it?" The artist has an obvious fascination for it, it's abnormal color immediately catching the boy's attention upon their first encounter last year. What can he say, he's attracted to pretty things. They may be the only thing that can keep his attention.

Suga simply chuckles and nods, recognizing that Raiden's flirty nature is pure, "You haven't seen me in almost a year, Baisho-san, of course, I've cut my hair." But the frantic boy is already moving on, having caught sight of a vibrant head of ginger. His ice-blue eyes shine as he takes in the ginger's shorter form, fascinated by the shade of his hair.

"Hey, carrot-top, is this your natural color?" Raiden shamelessly questions, but he holds himself back from touching it. His high-arched brows furrow into a knot as he takes in the way the boy's hair sticks up at different angles, but the platinum-blonde decides that it must be part of his boyish charm. Hinata yelps at the nickname, turning from his quiet bickering with Kageyama to turn to the third year.

"Um, what?"

Tsukishima snickers in his hand, and before he can stop, the Aoba Johsai student has his eyes on him. "You've got really pretty eyes." The comment is plain and simple, true to Raiden's form, and the teen only lingers with his gaze for a couple more seconds until the color is committed to memory. 

Kiyoko looks at her cousin emotionlessly, waiting for him to stop his teasing. She's come to identify when he scatters around purposefully or if it's simply him being a busy brain. And right now, with a group full of sweaty athletic guys from a school Raiden often dubs as 'cutie pie central' to Kiyoko, the teen is going to indulge. Plus, his scatter-brain is _never_ this bad. 

Raiden hates it when people assume he has ADHD ~~because technically he doesn't~~ , (though he is close), and yet he pulls shit like this? Kiyoko will never understand her cousin.

A couple more comments about Yamaguchi's adorable freckles and Kageyama's sinfully deep eyes and Raiden is finally smiling to himself. He's successfully made the enemy volleyball team as flustered as ever. It's almost enough for Raiden to forget about a certain pretty setter he needs to see later, but then Daichi - one of the only boys not as affected by Raiden's antics - tells them that their bus is here. The holographic-blonde frowns and turns to Kiyoko with a huff.

"I should've gone to Karasuno. You're smart for becoming the manager, though, I think some of them are gay now..." The teen whispers the last bit, a playful smirk painting his lips and his raven-haired cousin just lightly smacks his tall shoulder. 

"Half these boys don't even know who you are."

"Good, I like being a mystery," he shrugs and then chuckles smoothly when Kiyoko breaks her usual composure to grab at the teen's ear punishingly. His glasses slide down his nose at the sudden pull and Kiyoko knots her brows as she recalls their conversation on the phone.

Raiden adjusts his glasses and silently curses the girl when his ear stings a bright pink. "What happened to your contacts?"

Raiden freezes a bit and the thought leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. Tastes a bit like screeching girls and a too pretty setter, "Uh, it got mixed up with someone else," his attention then scans the gym when he notices the lack of squealing underclassmen, "I need to, um, find them." Distantly, the teen can hear Sugawara calling for Kiyoko so they could leave, but he's too distracted by the task at hand to even acknowledge the girl when she gives him a quick hug and bitter goodbye. They only live a good 30 minutes from one another, but Kiyoko's duties as manager and Raiden's poor ability to follow through with plans make it hard to see one another.

Suga and Daichi wave at the absentminded boy but leave it be when Kiyoko tells them to curtly. Raiden will text Kiyoko later and tell her more about whatever it was that grabbed his attention for more than ten seconds.

Doing one last sweep of the gym, Raiden finally concludes that the setter isn't in here, though he could've probably figured that out by the lack of girls in the gym. So, with twitching fingers and a million crazy thoughts, the boy finds a seat against a wall and begins drawing. His sketches never takes him more than a minute, each one a simple rough draft of a much bigger whole. An eye, a nose, and a pair of rectangular glasses with thick frames. 

* * *

Oikawa doesn't know how this day could get any _fucking_ worse. He looks down at his dry hands with a frown, his eyes teary and irritated. Only now he knows why they're like that, and he lets out a confused hiccup again while pressing both palms up at his eyes, trying to will them to stop watering. The day's events flash by him like a slap to the face and he groans, another sad hiccup leaving his lips. _Damnit_.

First thing, he woke up this morning to find that he fell asleep with his contacts in. He'd spent the night watching volleyball videos to do some extra preparing before the practice match today and fell asleep in the middle of it. Usually, it wouldn't be an issue, except when he took out the contacts, he found that one had ripped, and it was his last pair. The boy had a single stroke of luck when he found that they could get him a new prescription that _day_ , but that luck ran dry almost instantly when he found he could only pick it up after school when the practice game was. 

_No problem_ , he told himself, he'll just miss out on practice serves, _no biggy_.

_Yes, biggy_. The second hit was when one of the many swarming girls he's grown accustomed to having around accidentally tripped, because _'oh my god Oikawa looks so hot in glasses!'_ , and him being the gentleman he is, decided it was best to try and catch her. He'd ended up landing hard on his right knee, resulting in the limb to ache terribly. He now has to visit the trainer before the game so that they can ice and stretch him, _great_. He continuously told himself that he needed to go there after school anyway, and even told the girl the same thing just to get her to stop groveling.

Anyway, after school, he ~~sprinted~~ jogged to the pharmacy to grab his contacts, then had to immediately go to the trainer because his little ~~sprint~~ jog had only made the ache worse and- _holy fuck._ Oikawa lets out a quiet sob when his right knee throbs in reminder.

"Come on, Trashykawa, Coach still has to break us out." Iwaizumi mutters from the other side of the bathroom stall, his voice unusually soft. He hears his friend give another shaky cry and sighs. The ace is well aware that the boy has had a bad day, and after his confrontation with Kageyama, he can only guess that the famous setter is feeling pretty inadequate. And still, the brunet won't tell him what the real problem is. The crude nickname brings out a little normalcy to the weird situation. To say Iwaizumi is uncomfortable is a _huge_ understatement.

Oikawa doesn't answer and just hugs his knees tighter, trying to muffle his wet sniffs with his hands, he's embarrassed. But the crushing hit of the day is still fresh in his mind as ever, though a fleeting part of his day. Because, after his trip to the trainer, the boy had _yet_ to put in his contacts, and he isn't fond of wearing his glasses during any sort of physical activity, so he quickly ran into the nearest bathroom, ~~the one he's in now~~ (but that's totally unrelated), and went to do his routine like normal. _Fine, right?_ Yeah, except then Baisho Raiden happened.

Baisho Raiden, the extremely bold, busy brained, _gay as fuck_ , artist that sits three chairs over in their homeroom. _Sexy as hell_ fits somewhere in that title, but Oikawa's pretty sure that's the most obvious thing about him. At first, Oikawa didn't even notice the boy walk in, but then he caught sight of those slender hands and the long fingers pulling off the round pair of glasses and the boy could've swore he'd died. 

_Never_ has the setter been alone with the artist in their three years of high school. Whenever the two are in the same room, the former is almost always surrounded by his signature group of girls. Raiden tends to stay away from that. The two have never even spoken, and Oikawa is sure the boy has zero clue who he is. _He'd be the only one_.

That might have been the reason he'd dipped out of there as soon as he'd gotten on those frustrating contacts. _No dumbass,_ he scolds himself _, it's because you had a_ game _going on_. 

Yeah, even he doesn't believe himself.

Oikawa doesn't have a crush on the guy. _No._ He doesn't know enough about him besides what he's heard from others. But something he knows for a fact is that he wouldn't mind if that sexy face were stuck between his thigh—

"Oi, come on, Coach is going to kill us," Iwaizumi opens the unlocked door to the handicap stall, an annoyed expression plastered to his face when he's heard the setter sniffle for the hundredth time now. His expression softens, "We can talk more about it later, but we really have to _go_. Clean up quickly and fix your glasses, they've fogged up."

Oikawa gives his best friend a weak glare, upset that he's interrupted his self-pitying session, but unravels himself from the toilet and obeys him anyway. By the time he's done, his eyes are still a little red but the puffiness has gone down and his little nose isn't as rubbed raw as before. Oikawa takes his glasses into his hand and drags a hand down his cheek one last time, willing himself to not look as upset as he is.

"Okay," his voice cracks and he clears his throat before trying again, all semblance of his previous state gone, "Let's go."

* * *

Fifteen minutes. Long enough that the volleyball team has finished putting everything away, long enough that Raiden has had to dodge _six_ different volleyball's that have mysterious made their way for the boy's head, or so Hanamaki claims, and long enough that the artist has somehow managed to convinced everyone that he can do an entire portrait of the team in only _two minutes_.

Their poses are ridiculous, Raiden concludes as his left-hand flickers left and right, his body shaking in silent laughter when he catches sight of Matsukawa's blank expression, yet his pose is ridiculous. His back is turned and his ass is stuck out, and the tall teen has taken it upon himself to lean down and stick his head out under his legs, his hands gripping the back of his knees for support. Hanamaki is behind his teammate, his own blank expression stuck to his features, but the boy's hands are firmly planted on Matsukawa's ass.

Raiden finishes the messy sketch with a snicker, stopping the timer on his phone and smiling proudly with himself when he sees that there's still a remaining 3 seconds. The Seijoh team breaks away from their poses and all gather around the boy, Matsukawa whistling lowly when he sees the timer.

"I'm impressed, Raiden-kun. You've really got a talent for it!" The taller male compliments, awed by the way the sketch really does capture the moment in a messy yet accurate way. It looks really good.

Raiden takes the compliment with a bold smile, "Oh, I know," he yelps when Hanamaki ruffles his holographic hair with a scoff, "Hey, don't mess with my hair. Only my lovers can tug on it." The comment does the trick, with Hanamaki snapping his hand away as if he'd just gotten burned. He's face pulls up in disgust at the word 'lovers'.

"Eugh~ kinky bastard."

"Hey, Oikawa and Iwaizumi-senpai are here," the libreo, Watari, calls, gathering the attention of the annoyed coaches who've been quietly talking to one another about volleyball things. The whole team gathers towards the coaches instantly, and Raiden's eyes immediately lock onto the setter's form. _Damn, he's so fucking cute_. But the teen doesn't fail to notice how the brunet is wearing his glasses again, eyes a little pink beneath them.

The coaches are brief with their meeting, and Raiden decides that he doesn't need to be here for very long afterwards, so he gathers his things, being sure to rip out the drawing of the team for them to, _he doesn't know,_ put in the club room maybe. Whatever.

The team breaks out and a majority of the boys, meaning the first and second years, head straight to the club room, eager to get home and probably shower. Raiden couldn't blame them. The platinum-blonde watches as the four third-years talk with one another, mainly asking about where the captain and co-captain were.

"Oh, Iwa-chan was just helping me get away from the girls, right Iwa?" Oikawa asks, a silent plea in his eyes.

"Uh, yeah. He was as annoying as ever and kept giving them selfies," the ace goes along. The other two third-years give the pair an incredulous look but drop it. Raiden remains a little ways away, patiently waiting for their private conversation to end so he could _finally_ return the famous setter's contacts. The artist hasn't even had a proper conversation with the boy and already does he find the brunette high maintenance. Finally, when Raiden thinks the conversation has died down a bit, he steps in.

The teen clears his throat, and all four of them turn to their fellow classmate. With a smile, Raiden puts out the hand holding the drawing to Hanamaki, "I figured you'd want this, seeing that it'll just get buried with all the others if I keep it."

Hanamaki takes it with a shy laugh, then proceeds to tell Iwaizumi about Raiden's awesome sketch and such. Oikawa stares at Raiden gapingly, the setter hiding behind his best friend shyly as his thoughts run a million a minute. 

_Holy shit, he's right there._

_Did he watch the game?_

_Oh god, I made a complete fool of myself today._

_Damn, my face is still puffy._

_Ahh, he's so hot._

As Oikawa's jumbled thoughts completely incapacitate his ability to speak, his body is smart enough to try and sneak away, the boy turning slowly with his head down as to go unnoticed.

Unfortunately for him, although Raiden's usual scatter-brained tendencies would have him completely overlook Oikawa's daring escape, right now he's a man on a mission. And anyways, Raiden's busy antics can often be thwarted by pretty things, and Oikawa Tooru is about the prettiest thing Raiden's ever seen.

Raiden's eyes follow Oikawa's fleeting figure, and although he doesn't want to be rude to Matsukawa's constant complimenting of his talent, the boy really _really_ needed to get to the setter. So, with a charming smile and quick 'thank you', Raiden sidesteps past Iwaizumi and calls out to the pretty boy.

"Oi! Are you Oikawa Tooru?"

Oikawa freezes completely when he hears that smooth voice say his name, but then the whole sentence sinks in and the boy realizes he's _asking_ him if that's who he is. Okay, ouch, his already bruised ego chips a bit, and the teen can't help the annoyed expression that falls on his face when he faces the artist, "Yeah, and who are you?" He questions cooly, but it's _s_ _o stupid_. Iwaizumi rolls his eyes so hard at his best friend that the other two beside him are afraid he might have hurt himself. 

Raiden is taken aback by the sudden attitude, and his smile dims a little. He knows he should have expected it with all his _fangirls_ and _famous-ness._ But still, he thought that since he seems to be friends with the other three behind him, he wouldn't be that bad. _Thought wrong_. 

"The guy who has your contacts." Raiden deadpans, and all the boys furrow their brows in confusion. Even Oikawa gives the artist a puzzled look. Raiden huffs when he realizes how cryptic he sounds and rummages his bag for the prescription. When he takes it out for the boy to see, Oikawa flushes when it all comes together. He'd never thought that the reason his contacts weren't working was because they weren't _his_ , but he can't just admitthat. Before he could reply, the three volleyball players from behind them burst into fits of laughter.

"You- _ohmygod_ ," Matsukawa gasps, and Hanamaki can't even talk with how hard he's laughing at the setter's face.

Iwaizumi just stares in annoyance, a smirk painting his lips as he looks at Oikawa, "Really, you didn't even _check_ to see if they were yours, you just assumed they weren't working for some random reason?!" The brunet flushes an even deeper crimson at the comment, and he gives a small pout while swiftly swiping the bag from Raiden's hand, not able to meet the boy's ice-blue eyes, though they aren't as cold as the color. Oikawa goes through his duffle bag and hands the identical brown bag shyly to Raiden.

"I-uh, didn't even notice," Oikawa coughs, trying to scrape some his confidence from the ground.

Raiden eyes Oikawa weirdly, a small charming smirk forming on his mouth when he catches the boy's lingering blush, "Really? Wow, I'd assumed you would have had a hard time seeing the ball from the other side of the court. Because I'm farsighted, _extremely_ farsighted, and from what I can tell when I had your contacts in, you are _not._ "

The setter's body is as tense as ever, his left foot tapping the ground. He's having a really hard time looking into Raiden's eyes, fearing that once he did, he'd be able to see all the times the brunet has pleasantly dreamt of the platinum-blonde touching him. Talk about awkward. Oikawa huffs again, his pout deepening, "It wasn't _that_ bad." That's all he can really retort with, his tone more resembling that of a whiny child than a graduating high schooler.

Raiden has to stop himself from chuckling at the boy's reaction, opting to spare the poor teen from his relentless teasing. From behind the pair, the three other third years are staring at the two with shock.

Oikawa has never been this _flustered_ before.

And Raiden's never been this _focused_.

Soon enough, the two coaches take notice that their third year players have yet to change and leave the gym, and scold them all to leave. They start to head out, and before Raiden can part from the four he stops, suddenly remembering something.

"OH, wait, Oikawa-san," he grabs the setter’s attention again, the boy's blush having died down but his embarrassment not. He's still abnormally quiet, not making egotistical comments about himself and keeping his gaze away from the artist. He's forced to look Raiden in the eyes now, or so Iwaizumi tells him, and his best friend mutters some excuse about needing to take a piss before he pulls the other two third years into the club room with him.

"I-yeah?" The boy replies, completely breathless from seeing Raiden's eyes. They're even prettier than how he's dreamt them to be, but he expels the thought quickly.

"I put back the contacts I briefly used. They're in the first compartment, you might want to throw them out. You don't want your fans seeing you with red eyes right? They'd get the wrong impression." His tone is playful and flirty, but Oikawa is too stuck on the words. At the mention of his fans, Oikawa's shyer attitude is replaced by annoyance. Is that sarcasm he hears from the artist? And who's he to talk about fans, _his_ are just hiding. The fact that Raiden's openly gay simply means that having a flock of girls is an inconvenience.

"Yeah, same here. Though I'm not too worried about my fans, I find it endearing that they follow me with such concern. They pay attention, and ask the _important questions_." It's a subconscious jab, for when Raiden asked the obvious question of if he _really_ was Oikawa. Unknowingly, he’s also called out Raiden for avoiding the fangirl flocks, which the artist doesn't appreciate.

"Hmm, I bet. Having a bunch of horny girls at your beck and call seems like fun." Two can play at this game, and although Raiden doesn't really want to talk like this with such a _gorgeous_ boy, his pride won't take the hit.

Oikawa huffs, itching for the last word of this pointless bickering, "It really is. I'm rather fond of the attention." Raiden just chuckles at the blatent call for attention, finding it cute, but also rather annoying. Why is the setter acting like this? Why is he? Whatever, he's growing bored, and he's tired. He's in desperate need of food. A pork bun sounds good right about now.

Oikawa watches as Raiden's eyes grow unfocused again, his thoughts scattering back how they were before and the setter huffs, upset that the platinum-blonde's attention isn't on him anymore. They stand there in silence for a couple more seconds, the brunet waiting for the other to make a comment, but when none comes, he simply sighs and mutters a goodbye, dejectedly walking through the club room door.

Raiden’s thoughts gather just enough for the blonde to manage an offhanded goodbye, his thoughts consistent of types of food he could eat at the moment.   
  


That night, both boy’s try to brush off the bitter taste left behind from, ~~what they think is~~ their last conversation, but neither think of how a simple prescription mix up could start one of the hottest rumors in school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe, this one’s gonna be a little mature. I kinda like it that way tho ;)) I love reading your guys’ comments, they encourage me to update faster!!


	3. chapter two

RAIDEN can't possibly understand how this happens nearly every morning, without fail.

Well, he _can_ , but that doesn’t mean he likes it.  
  


At first, it was a shy tap, but over the course of three years, Hanamaki has opted to just bang on the window as hard as possible. The artist hates living in a one-story house, the windows are always reachable.

"Oi, come on!" The pink-toned boy's voice is muffled by the glass, and Raiden covers his head with his pillow, already in a poor mood. The platinum-blonde was having an _amazing_ dream featuring soft, out of this world hair under his hands and the prettiest coffee-bean eyes ever staring up at him. Damnit, he's hard. Luckily, Raiden grew smart by the end of his first year at the peak of puberty, ~~when he realized he's gay~~ , and now closes the blinds every night so Hanamaki can't stalk him more than normal, though if he's being honest, he wouldn't mind.

The artist gets off his loft and shuffles to the window, bringing his hand to the blinds and hitting the glass beneath. _KNOCK, KNOCK... KNOCK._

_I, am... hard._

Raiden knows the message was received clearly when Hanamaki squeaks from the other side, making his usual disgusted noises like he always does when his friend uses their special signal. To Raiden's surprise, the volleyball player was the one who really devised the special knock, after getting sick of hearing Raiden actually tell him verbally. He claims it's less embarrassing and can surely be put to good use.  
  


Raiden chuckles to himself as he remembers that one time between the summer of their first and second year when they watched some R-rated beach comedy film together. There ended up being a nude scene with some female actress with the biggest tits Raiden has ever seen (only tits really, he's gay, remember) and while the platinum-blonde reacted with a disgusted gag (really, how can someone be attracted to two huge globs of flesh, ~~*cough* he swears that balls are different *cough*~~ ), Hanamaki had a completely _different_ reaction. The spiker had ended up tapping the knock on the coffee table, even though they were alone, and promptly fled the scene to the bathroom. 

To this day, Raiden still brings it up, teasing him that that would be the closest he'd ever get to a girl that pretty.

By the time the holographic-blonde pulls himself out from the memory, his basketball shorts aren't as tight as they used to be. He takes a cold shower anyways to help wake up, and when he finally comes down the hall, correct contacts in and running clothes on, his mother had already welcomed Hanamaki inside and was feeding him breakfast. Raiden smiles at the familiar scene and leans down to give his mother a light kiss on the cheek.   
  


“Ahh, my baby decided to join us,” the woman starts, her tone gentle despite the sarcastic quibble. Hanamaki chortles with a mouth full of food and the tiny woman is quick to hit him atop the head with the clean wooden spoon she was putting away. Raiden snorts, then ducks under his mother’s arm when she raises the same spoon menacingly.   
  


Shimizu Mei, formerly Baisho-Shimizu Mei, is a 144.5 cm ball of raw strength. The 45-year-old woman’s soft face and gentle voice tricks all who defy her. She’s got a mean swing, and when accompanied by her famous wooden spoon, she’s _lethal._  
  


Raiden scarfs down the food with Hanamaki, the two attempting to best one another. Raiden ends up finishing first, dropping his chopsticks beside the plate and raising his fists in victory with a mouth full of rice. Hanamaki groans softly, slowing down his chewing when he realizes there isn’t a point anymore.

“Ha! You even had a head start!”

“Tsk, you’re such a pig, I’m surprised you aren’t fat,” the outside hitter comments, masking his disappointment to losing as teasing instead.

Raiden huffs and pouts, turning towards the sink with the dishes in hand. He grumbles, “So mean, you’re just mad I won.” He pouts even more when his mother gently reprimands him for eating too quickly, but takes the dishes from him and pushes the boy off to grab his things.

Hanamaki slips his running shoes back on and waits by the door for his neighbor, watching as the boy gracefully grabs his bag and kisses his mother’s cheek.   
  


The short woman calls idly as she scrubs a plate, “Remember, your father has to leave for New York this weekend, so he can’t take you.” Raiden frowns briefly at the disappointing news but nods anyway, his eyes scanning the living room past the front door for something.

“Hey, where’s my camera. It should’ve arrived yesterday but I forgot to check.” His mother points with a soapy finger towards the worn chair in the corner, a black carrier bag sitting atop it.

Hanamaki rolls his eyes and grunts when Raiden comes back with it in his hands, “The fuck are you doing with a camera?! We’re about to go on a run!” Raiden’s mother shouts a quick, ‘language’ and the boy apologizes with a nervous bow, but still gives the platinum-blonde a weary glare.

The two leave and begin their jog to school, taking their normal detours so that the usual 15-minute jog morphs to about 30. They do this on the days Hanamaki doesn’t have morning practice, and although Raiden was reluctant the first time the other boy had forced him to go out, he’s come to appreciate the refreshing run.  
  


“So, you know how I got kicked off the art club at the end of last year?” The pink-toned boy nods with a smirk that Raiden chooses to ignore, “Okay, and you know how you always yell at me when I try to draw when we run?”

Hanamaki groans and lets out an exasperated pant, “It’s common sense!! You would have run into that lamp post last week if it weren’t for me!! Be grateful!!” Raiden just waves him off, too preoccupied with setting up the camera to reply. Even while on a run, his hands remain steady and he doesn’t fumble with sliding off the lens cap, effortlessly taking the bouncing black camera carrier and putting it away. He may be scatterbrained, but all his actions hold an essence of grace and fluidity.

“Okay yeah, well I figured out the solution to both problems! The deadline for club registration is next week, and I won’t be caught dead on the janitor team, so I‘m joint the photography club!! And, as a bonus, I can take pictures while we run!!!”

Hanamaki sweat drops, and not from the physical exertion, “I-I guess...” he watches as his friend begins snapping pictures of the scenery around them, the morning sun settling a golden glow across their village. Raiden smiles when he sees the familiar gazebo they usually pass by and quickly snaps a photo, gleeful with the way the sun gives off a gentle glow.

They make to the school's front grass in no time and are accompanied by other early-bird students. There’s a light sheen of sweat on Hanamaki's forehead, and when the boy turns to look at the artist he scowls when he sees that the boy isn't even panting.

"You- you," he puffs, "I hate you, you know that? How are you not tired?!" 

Raiden scoffs, "I _am_ , you wake me up way too early." The panting boy gives him an exasperated scowl and the artist huffs, "I happen to have good stamina, I don't know, I'm sorry not everyone can be born perfect like me," he sighs dramatically, then laughs when Hanamaki just shoves him lightly with frustration. "Okay, okay, let's go get changed though, I'm starting to sweat by just looking at you!" The two walk into the school and change in the boy's bathroom's into their uniforms. 

Raiden steps out first, adjusting the dark red tie so it's nice and centered. He tucks in the lilac button up into his pants, his high waist giving way to sharp hipbones and a cutting v-line. The white sleeves of his blazer are rolled up neatly so they meet his elbows, and he fastens the only three buttons of the blazer, the top half of it opened as to not choke himself. All in all, he's looking good. Hanamaki comes out not too later and they step out again, ready to begin their trek to class.

"Oi, Ito Hina's in your class, right? She the head of the photography club." The pink-toned boy nods when he recognizes his classmate's name and they head over, completely oblivious of the group of girls staring at the artist as he walks past or the whispers that follow.

* * *

Oikawa and Iwaizumi walk into their first class surprisingly undisturbed. It's a little unsettling if the setter's being honest. When he made it onto the school campus he prepared himself to be surrounded by the usual group of girls, all mostly first and second years, ready to ask him useless questions or give him ~~terribly~~ crafted gifts and confess their shallow love to him.

He's flattered by it all, really, and is truly grateful for the attention, but the number of short love letters or cheap plush animals he gets in a day makes it hard to focus on school. He endures it, since it's still early in the year and there are only so many new first years in the school, and in a month or two the gifts and confessions will die down to maybe one or two a week. But the girls never leave.

So when he isn't greeted by the dozen small girls showering him with attention, he can't deny that it's a little relieving. He's confused of course, and a little frightened as to what has happened, but ultimately taking the space in strides. Even when he and his best friend make it into class, the four or five third-year classmates, doting exes or otherwise, don't bother greeting him. He thinks he can see a one or two actually avoiding his gaze when he takes his seat by the window in the middle row. 

"Iwa-chan?" his voice is low, unsure, "I'm _scared._ " The shorter male finally tears his eyes away from his phone, he was messaging Matsukawa and Hanamaki about possible practice drills he and Oikawa discussed a bit on their walk to school and took out one of his earbuds. His thicker eyebrows immediately knot when he glances around and sees Oikawa sitting in front of his by all by his lonesome and sits in his seat beside the boy.

Iwaizumi scoffs, "Maybe they finally figured you aren't _all_ that, especially with that performance yesterday." Oikawa huffs at the comment about his poor playing and the raven rolls his eyes. "It's probably nothing Tooru-kun, maybe Sensei announced a pop quiz before we arrived and they're just focused on that!" The brunet nods and sighs, trying to mask his happiness with disappointment.

The five-minute warning bell sounds out and the setter opts to get out his things, preparing for the usual individual work their teacher assigns them in the morning. He sets his pencil down in the rivet at the top of the desk and feels an odd sense of calm sweep over him when he realizes that there aren't people swarming him to make idle chat right up to the moment their teacher has to teach. He doesn't even feel the need to talk with Iwaizumi, although their conversations are easy-going and familiar within themselves. _It's nice_ , he concludes, _he wouldn't mind if this became the new norm._

Then, a tuff of platinum blonde hair and that lean but muscularly tall figure appears in the corner of his eye and he feels a sudden spark of iron hot excitement shoot up his spine. Raiden might give Oikawa the time of day now that he's not swarmed with female hormones! After yesterday's encounter, the setter is interested to know more about the artist than just what he dreams up. What are his exact contact prescriptions, did he go to their game for more than just to fix the contacts error, does he actually have tattoos on his arms or are they fake, when did he find out he likes boys-

_Oh._

_Oh, wait._ Oikawa then recalls that their conversation didn't really end nicely, he pouts. _Damn._ He should probably apologize, seeing as he definitely caused the conversation to take a wrong turn in the first place, but just the thought of it stings his pride. Really, he could just blame it on having a bad day and a headache due to the contacts switch up, completely overlooking the fact that he was salty over Raiden not paying attention to him until now, but it leaves a bitter taste. _What to do, what to do?_ He truly wants to be on good terms with the platinum-blonde, maybe even become friends, but _what does he do?!_

"Oi, Shittykawa! Raiden-kun's trying to talk to you." Iwaizumi shakes Oikawa's shoulder and the brunet finally comes from his own panicked mind to return to reality. That reality being Baisho Raiden, before him, leaning again the empty desk with an amused smile and sharp gaze pointed towards _him._

Oikawa blinks, "Hmm... oh, hi Baisho-san." he does a little wave with the hand unoccupied with holding his head up, trying his best to act nonchalant while ignoring the screeching in his head. The other his mirrors him, his fingers doing a little wave with his arms crossed over one another.

"Hi," he chuckles, "call me Raiden, we had each other's contacts in, I think we're a little past formalities," Oikawa nods dumbly and mutters the boy's given name under his breath. It feels good on his tongue. "Anyway..." Raiden's eyes flicker up towards the rest of the class, specifically the females he usually sees surrounding the setter every morning.

Most are minding their own business, chatting with one another, but he catches two girls snap their heads away when he goes to make eye contact. Not that odd for Raiden since that how it usually goes. Girls often feel awkward staring at a hot gay dude, knowing he wouldn't do the same for them. Still, this time it feels different, like it's not just him their afraid of being caught by, but Oikawa. Eh, his interest on the matter is gone now, whatever.

The artist's eyes snap back to Oikawa with a sly grin, "Seems I was wrong last night, your fangirls aren't that worried about you." The setter scowls and his pride swells, his need to defend his fanbase swelling with it. Maybe he doesn't want to get to know Raiden if the boy is just gonna tease him about his fans. Raiden spots the growing scowl on his face and backtracks quickly, not wanting this to go south like last night, "I- sorry. I'm just teasing you, I don't mean anything by it. My-uh, my humor is super shitty. I got it from my dad, it's the American in me."

This piques Oikawa's interest much more. _American?_ Another question to the pile. He sees that Raiden is waiting for him to say something, but doesn't feel scrutinized with the teen's sharp eyes reading his face. Oikawa cracks a genuine, relaxed smile and leans forward a bit more, "It's fine, my humor only consists of puns and knock-knock jokes," he ignores Iwaizumi's fake gag from next to him at his obvious attempt of flirting.

Raiden snorts as well, wondering how the _fuck_ this works so well with all the girls, all while trying desperately to convince himself that his racing heart is just the delayed effects of his run this morning. "Oh yeah? I don't know any knock-knock jokes, but do you like pick up lines? Because I've got a few ridiculous ones that I can try out."

"Go ahead and try, let's see what you got," Oikawa can feel goosebumps erupting across his arms and legs and has to suppress a shiver when he catches Raiden switch the leg he's crossing, the brown pants he's wearing are just tight enough that he can see the muscles in his thighs working. The artist wets his lips with a smirk and leans forward so he isn't too loud while talking.

"Why-" _RING. RING. RING._

Raiden pauses and waits for the first bell to stop ringing, then sighs and whispers, "I can tell you next time, yeah?" Oikawa simply nods and the artist walks back to his seat beside Iwaizumi. The ace glances at his best friend, then rolls his eyes when he catches the setter trying to hide his smile behind his fingers, the palm of his hand supporting his chin in a comfortable, light way.

Oikawa's eyes stick themselves to their teacher as she gives out the instructions for the morning, a warm blush dancing gently over his plush cheeks.

* * *

Raiden felt weird. Not weird in the warm way he felt earlier this morning while talking to the pretty setter. No, this was a bad type of weird, a _hair-standing-up-oh-god-someone's-watching_ sort of weird. Yeah.

Especially now as he's walking through the cafeteria, his nice slick grey bento box his hands as he finds a nice secluded spot in the corner. He has this odd sense that someone is watching his actions and interactions like they're attempting to figure something out. He sits at the empty table and sighs, doing his best to brush it off.

He isn't a loner, _god no_ , he's friendly with lots of people from lots of groups, and he knows where his actual friends are sitting. They're sitting where they always do, but Raiden often finds that food brings out the purest form of people, and it oftentimes results in the best candid drawings. So the artist likes eating alone, unbothered by the distraction of talk, ~~because he knows he'll just get pulled it~~ , and also because the group of friends he has is always surrounded by girls looking to interact with a certain popular teen. And that would be an even bigger, unwanted distraction.

Raiden hums to himself as he looks at his sketchpad, first seeing if any unfinished projects would pique his interest before he takes on a new one. A recent one of eyes and glasses catches his attention and he lifts his pencil, beginning to turn the rough draft into the final work with harder, more even lines. He's unbothered for a good five minutes before two tall figures cast a dim shadow in front of him, causing the boy to look up.

"Found him, see, I told you he's by himself. He always either draws or fucks during lunch," Hanamaki insists, crossing his arms at Matsukawa while the expressionless male just shrugs, unfazed. Raiden hears the comment and gasps, his right hand dropping his chopsticks and his left pointing the pencil at the wing spiker threateningly.

"For your information, I don't fuck around during lunch. It was _one_ time last year and I was doing him a favor technically. He claimed he didn't want to go into college a virgin, so I helped!"

The middle blocker raises a questioning eyebrow, "You took an upperclassman's virginity last year? Where'd you even do it?" Hanamaki groans and runs a hand down his face, quietly scolding his friend for asking.

"Oh, Sato-Sensai's classroom is always empty during lunch. I took him on the desk," Raiden's got a sly smile on his face now, running a tongue over his lower lip at the memory. The _ass_ on that dude...

Hanamaki fake gags and hops around with disgust, flailing his hands as if it'll get the filth off, "EEWW STOPPPP!"

Raiden just deadpans, "That's what you get for starting rumors!" The pink-toned boy just huffs and grumbles, muttering to Matsukawa that he doesn't want to do it anymore.

The curly-haired boy rolls his eyes, "Well, I'm not gonna just let Rai-kun be alone over here, plus, if we don't get him then Iwaizumi-kun will have our asses." Raiden furrows his eyebrows and opens his mouth to ask what he means, but doesn't get the chance when suddenly Hanamaki snatches his art supplies and runs into the sea of tables.

The artist almost instantly shoots up and races after him, leaving Matsukawa to pick up his food and other things and slowly follow suit. Hanamaki swiftly makes it to their group's usual table and nearly slams the supplies onto the surface next to Oikawa. The setter, who had been resting his head, happy for the day of peace and quiet, jolts up with a gasp and immediately turns his hot glare at the outside hitter.

"Makki-chan you ass! What did yo-" his eyes find the clutter of art supplies at his side and he freezes, then turns to stare at the direction Hanamaki had come from. Raiden is standing a couple feet away, eyeing the table and it's surroundings skeptically as if it were boobytrapped. "Eh, what's all this?" The setter's voice isn't that certain, but it carries anyway and Hanamaki just shrugs before finding his seat from across the table, in front of Iwaizumi who's seated next to the confused brunet.

"Ask Iwaizumi-kun."

All eyes from the table land on the ace, who's boredly eating his food, "Hmm? Oh, I figured that since Oikawa's fucking fans aren't on top of us like always, Raiden-kun wouldn't mind eating with us for once. The reason he doesn't sit here is because of you anyway Shittykawa, so the least you can do is offer him a seat." The brunet gives his best friend the nastiest glare he can conquer before he reluctantly faces the artist again. 

Matsukawa has come back and neatly placed the rest of Raiden's things next to Oikawa, then found his own seat beside Hanamaki. The pink-toned boy is where the majority of Raiden's glare lies, and the outside hitter subconsciously ducks behind his tall friend for protection. "Hey, it was Iwaizumi-kun's idea in the first place! Plus, there aren't any girls around, so what's the harm?!" The teen basically squeaks, and the artist takes another lingering glance around the table before sitting down with a plop. 

Oikawa visibly flinches when the artist sits, their thighs brushing gently as the setter crosses one leg over the other. Raiden is still glaring slightly at Hanamaki, the platinum-blonde simply opting to take all his anger out with his gaze. The pink-toned boy grunts and shovels some noodles in his mouth, "Stop doing that, you should be thanking me! Now you have a view of the whole room and can even take some cool photos!!" 

Raiden's glare softens at the sentiment and his attention is instantly drawn to the black case beside him. He gasps and excitedly takes out the camera, setting it up flawlessly with long nimble fingers. Oikawa stares at his hands as they work, his heart doing a weird fluttery thing and his stomach lights on fire. His thighs squeeze together tighter.

"You do photography?" he finds himself asking, then inhales sharply when Raiden's icy blue eyes meet his own dark hazel ones. Their faces are closer than expected and Oikawa leans back a little. If Raiden notices, he never shows it, and simply smiles softly at the question.

The boy shrugs, "Not really, but I got kicked out of the Art club last year and needed to join a new club, so I choose photography. I still prefer drawing though, since it more closely captures what the artist perceives in their head. It's unique, and every style is beautiful in their own ways."

"So you're saying my stick figures are beautiful-- HEY!"

The artist and the setter ignore Hanamaki and Oikawa hums, "Why'd you get kicked out?" Raiden's eyes widen and a rare blush creeps onto the back of the holographic-blonde's neck and he chuckles nervously, his eyes subconsciously straying towards Hanamaki and Matsukawa with a knowing look.

The middle blocker is the first to put two and two together, "Wait, so it _wasn't_ just one time? That's awesome." Matsukawa fist bumps the teen and Raiden just chuckles, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.

Hanamaki scrunches his nose in disgust and scoffs, "Oh god, so how many times _did_ it happen?!" He gasps, "And you _lied_!!"

"No, the first time was during lunch, but then the rest..." he sighs, "Well, technically I was kicked off because I kept missing the meetings, so..."

"EVERY OTHER DAY?! How did you not get caught?!" Matsukawa barks out, his face twisted in amusement. Iwaizumi catches on quickly and starts chuckling as well, reaching around behind Oikawa to give the artist a slap on the back.

Oikawa gapes, his cheeks burning a dark crimson and he shifts uncomfortably, suddenly all too aware of the heat Raiden's thigh is giving off. Raiden winces at Matsukawa's question and chortles nervously, the hand at the back of his neck rubbing more fiercely, "Well, the bathrooms over in the boy's volleyball gym are usually super empty, especially when you guys are too busy with scrimmages so-" Oikawa lets out a surprised yelp and Raiden turns to look at the boy, head tilted as he catches the brunet's flustered reaction.

The rest of the table either lets out a series of disgusted groans or cheer the artist on. _Teenage boys._ Raiden laughs with them, eyes still lingering on Oikawa's red face and subconsciously locks it into memory to draw later.

Red is a beautiful shade on him.

A light tap pulls the boy from his thoughts and he turns to face a first-year girl, her hair a vibrant red and her eyes a deep forest green. _Fascinating._ "Uh, hi?" Raiden says, a polite smile on his face. He's already sure where this is going, by the lack of friends behind her yet and by the familiarly timid look in her eyes.

The redhead gives a tiny squeak when she hears his voice address her, "H-h-hello," her pitch is high, and Raiden forces himself to not flinch at it. _Please just get this done quickly._ "U-uh, Baisho-senpai, I-I was wondering if you'd want to-"

"Yui-chan!!" Three girls come and grab the girl quickly, whispering so lowly in her ear Raiden isn't even sure they're speaking. He watches as the girls crimson cheeks drain of all their color, and how her eyes widen the size of saucer plates. Then, those same eyes flash from Raiden to Oikawa, who's ever so subtly wishing the girls would just _go away_.

"I-I-I SO SORRY!" she yells, bowing so quickly and so low Raiden fears she'll snap her spine. Then, in an unexpected twist, she turns towards Oikawa with a determined look, "You're very lucky, Oikawa-senpai, to have a man like Raiden. I hope the best for the two of you!!" She stands straight and marches off, her friends wide-eyed at the redhead's brave actions. Both Oikawa and Raiden sit there dumbfounded, completely at a loss for what she meant.

"Whaaat..."

"... was that...?"

One of the girls hear the disjointed question and turns back with confidence, albeit more timid than the redhead. Raiden recognizes her to be the second year he asked for help with reading Oikawa's prescription bag. "Oh, well, Yui-chan didn't know Baisho-senpai is gay, or that Oikawa-senpai and him are dating! Sorry for the inconvenience!!" She bows too and scurries off before anyone at the table can say anything. 

The whole cafeteria seems to be in a stand-still, nearly every girl watching eagerly to catch the two biggest heartthrobs of the school finally confess to their _secret relationship_. Even the table of volleyball players have their eyes locked onto their friends, confusion and surprise laced in each of their features, _is it true?!_

Raiden feels his heart skip a beat while his mind processes the girl's explanation. _Oikawa and him, dating?_ Oikawa seems to hold a similar reaction as he feels his face light up again at the implications. The setter's thoughts instantly wander to what Raiden told them about him and an upperclassman in the bathroom, only then replacing the upperclassman with himself. He feels himself go lightheaded and he half-heartedly scolds himself for thinking about it.

Both boys seem to have blanked out and the entire cafeteria nearly holds their breath. Raiden is the first to lift his head and look at the brunet, who shyly meets his gaze with clouded eyes. Both have scattered thoughts, their minds running wild to try and catch up with the situation and properly react, but the same question keeps spinning through their heads.

_What if?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe, I'm evil. I hope you guys like it! I love reading your thoughts in the comments, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right! comment on what you think might happen, I'm genuinely curious!!


	4. chapter three

OIKAWA’S mind reels with the endless possible outcomes that could take place within the next couple of minutes. He's completely out of control over the situation. Although he's overcome his initial shock and now is taking a minute to gape at Raiden’s reaction, the setter can't wait and appreciate it. Oikawa's pride won't let him, he _needs_ control right now. And although he knows he'll regret his actions later, the teen lets his preservative instincts take over.

"Where'd you get that impression? Rai-chan and I are hardly even friends," His voice takes on a playful quip, fake smile forced upon his lips. Raiden's gaped mouth snaps shut, the boy's glazed eyes clearing to zone in on the brunet's face. The icy blue eye's turn cold in demeanor, forcing goosebumps to rise and the volleyball captain scolds himself for nearly pouting when he sees the way Raiden sweeps across his face ~~almost~~ disinterested.

The artist clicks his tongue, trailing his eyes from his face to his neck and down his lean torso, all the way until he reaches the long stretch of muscular thigh and calf, legs tucked under the low seat and crossed at the ankles awkwardly. “Hey, Oikawa-san’s right. We aren’t dating.” He brushes his bangs back, a smirk of his own playing on pink lips, though to Oikawa it seems more like a sneer.

“Anyway, he isn’t my type. _Too tall and flat_.” 

The brunet tics, his expression giving way to an unsavory scowl before throwing his arms together in a fold and giving a silent ‘hmph!’ through his upturned nose. 

The small crowd of high school girls formed at the front of the scene takes everything in religiously, from the way Oikawa turns away from the artist in a huff to when Raiden presses a smooth palm to the space between his eyebrows. Most seem satisfied with the answer, more so relieved at the news while a few seem skeptical. The lingering few give narrowed looks at the accused couple, eyes searching for even the slightest hint of lying, but find none. At least none in the sense they're looking for.

The rest of the cafeteria went back to their casual routine right after Oikawa’s initial rebuttal, suddenly impartial to the lack of drama between the two ~~arguably~~ most talked about guys at school. 

The rest of the third-years at the table watch closely at the actions of their fellow class and teammate, confused as to where this rumor came from and with it, finding amusement. Both Hanamaki and Matsukawa are caught by Raiden snickering behind their food, and Oikawa can see Iwaizumi grunting unimpressed from the corner of his eye, but before either can confront them, the table is surrounding by girls.

No one is prepared for the onslaught, and Oikawa is giving half a second to panic before he reels it all in and goes about it like he normally does, with ~~fake~~ _confidence._ "Oh, ladies, is that why you've been ignoring me all morning?" He forces a pout to his lips that he knows they'll react to, "I was _so_ lonely and bored this morning! How did a stupid rumor keep you from your affections, I've dated in the past," He sing-songs, and a couple of the girls flush gently. _My exes,_ his mind so graciously produces.

The girls all giggle nervously, their eyes flickering over towards the artist hunched over the table, who's occupied himself with hastily drawn sketches. "Ah, w-well... Baisho-senpai likes his space and we thought you were his boyfriend, so..." They all begin to bow in apology, clutters of voices promising not to make the same mistake again just because of rumors.

Oikawa shivers, his thoughts stuck in a loop that repeats ' _his_ ' over and over again, and shushes the apologizes sheepishly. From beside him, Raiden is heard packing his belongings, the girls finally overwhelming his thoughts and impeding his work. (He refuses to acknowledge the fact that his mind is stuck on the word ' _his_ ' also. That's _NOT_ the reason he's leaving.) The brunet turns to face the blonde with a confused noise, but Raiden pays him no mind and turns to the sea of girls instead.

"I think it's very thoughtful of you all for respecting my boundaries and relationships, no matter if they're rumors of not. And I hope that in the future you'll continue to do the same again. If you'd please excuse me though, I have some sketches I need to finish." Blunt, true to Raiden's form, but unnecessarily formal, from what Oikawa could tell. The platinum-blonde seems to be forcing himself to be patient, from the way his fingers frantically tap his pad as the girls create room for him to leave.

Some of the girls blush and mutter their shy thank-yous, while others simply admire the boy's profile as he slips by and Oikawa can't help but do the same, a small pit of disappointment settling in his stomach as he watches the artist walk off. He has to stop himself from pouting again when he notices the empty seat next to him refill with a random fan, but allows himself to whine when Iwaizumi punches his shoulder, giving him that silent look he always does when he wants to say something but can't that the moment. 

Only this time, he doesn't have to say anything at all, because Oikawa knows exactly how he messed up. And now, when the dust has settled from that disaster of a power trip and the brunet has to deal with the consequences of his actions, a regret forms in his head as he beams another fake smile at the awaiting fan now seated beside him.

_I wish I'd have said yes._

* * *

Raiden doodles little volleyballs wielded by slender hands on the sides of his notes, a frown etched to his face as he thinks back to lunch the hour prior. He'd let his self-esteem take a nasty turn and ended up lying to protect himself. _Too tall and flat??_ Though all of Raiden's previous partners were indeed significantly shorter than him, it isn't a deciding factor, personality is. 

The artist flickers his gaze to his left two seats over where Oikawa is seen talking quietly with Iwaizumi in paired work. The setter is frowning, his eyes skimming the worksheet before him and his teeth worrying at his bottom lip. The platinum-blonde is suddenly reminded of that conceited smile he'd given in the cafeteria, how he'd ridiculed that they were hardly friends, let alone lovers.

_He's got a point._ And what kind of personality does that say about him, with an ego constantly fed by teenage girls and an uplifting title like the captain to keep him up? _Didn't that ginger kid call him some vain nickname also?! Like Great King?!_ Raiden then huffs, thinking maybe it wouldn't have been a good match.

Why'd he even speak to him this morning, when last night had been proof enough of his arrogance. Hanamaki's words from before class this morning ring through his head in an annoying quip.

_"He's super annoying around his fans, but during practice or in a game, I trust him completely. He cares a lot, Rai-kun, you just gotta let him show it."_

_"You better not tell him I said any of this, or I'll fuck up that camera of yours."_

He'd been right too, Raiden remembers Oikawa's soft wave and even softer smile. _Ugh, I hate this._

"...-kun, Raiden-kun!!" Hard fingers flick his temple and the boy lets out an undignified yelp that catches the unwanted attention of some students nearby, Oikawa included. Nakaya Emiko, the girl responsible for his sore temple, scoffs at his reaction and looks back down at her paper, writing down the tenth questions answer.

“What the hell, Emiko-chan?!" The teen hisses, ducking his head in slight embarrassment when he catches gorgeous brown eyes staring back at him. The busty brunette beside him gives him an odd look and points the end of her pen at his worksheet, where the doodles hold a constant theme. They're usually never the same thing twice, true to his scattered nature, but today seems different. 

The third-year's pen points to a certain line, "What'd you get for number 13?" Raiden answers in a grumble and his eyes grow unfocused again, his thoughts unable to stay on the ~~easy~~ English work in front of him and instead he goes back to finishing some details on delicately slender fingers. Emiko sighs, her dark bangs falling in front of her eyes and she blows them from her face, a dark look taking over her sharp features and an evil grin takes over her face.

With calculated risk, the girl yanks Raiden's right hand from under his chin and places it palm up smack into his boob. Not only does he artist's head nearly crack against the table but he jerks his hand back and releases another, albeit louder, undignified yelp. This time it gathers the attention of the whole class, teacher included.

"Does there seem to be a problem, Mr. Baisho?"

The teen gulps and his body begins to heat up from under his collar when that same pair of brown eyes bore into him again. "N-no," his smooth voice cracks and he clears his throat, "We're all good, Sensei." _God, he wants to die_. He throws a nasty glare at Emiko.

"Seriously, what's your problem?!"

The brunette scoffs and stops twiddling her pen, "What's yours? You've never been _this_ distracted before."

Raiden brushes the question off nonchalantly, "English is boring, I already know how to speak it and the grammar is easy." The girl's stare doesn't seize, if anything it intensifies and the boy flinches, "What?! It's the truth!!"

"Mmhmm," She motions towards his doodles, "So it has nothing to do with pretty boy over there?" Her tone is quiet, but the platinum-blonde shushes her anyway. The teen smirks, "I knew it! That scene during lunch seemed _way_ to fake, even for a guy like Oikawa-san. So, how long has it been going on?!"

Raiden furrows his brows in confusion and makes a small noise, completely perplexed by the question, "Wha- Oikawa-san and I are _not_ dating!" He whisper shouts, then mumbles irritably, "Where did people get that impression, to begin with?!"

"Well, this morning I heard some second years talking about how you went and got his contact prescriptions for him, and then another girl commented about seeing you two leaving the boy's bathroom together near the volleyball courts? She said she didn't think much of it at the time but that Oikawa-san looked super flustered when he ran out."

Raiden can't believe his luck. _That's_ how the fucking rumor started?! Teenage girls are crazy, man. "T-that-- I mean--" He runs a hand through his locks and releases a puff of air in disbelief. "L-look, we're _not_ dating. There was a prescription mixup at the pharmacy I go to and I ended up with his and he ended up with mine. And the bathroom--" the implications knock the air out of his lungs. How _pretty_ Oikawa'd look under-. "Just- just no, we're not together."

The brunette nods in understanding, agreeing to believe the exasperated artist reluctantly, "Alright, alright. I'm just pulling your leg. Though, the way you two were this morning-"

" _Emiko-chan!_ " There's a hiss again, and Raiden's left hand squeezes his pencil tightly. He doesn't want to be reminded about hownice their interaction was this morning, he already knows.

The girl chuckles and the conversation is put on hold as the teacher directs the attention back to the front for the next set of instructions. After he's finished speaking and the next assignments have been handed out, math, the class returns to the partner work. 

"Look, all I'm saying is that even my asexual ass can appreciate a face like pretty boy over there--" Raiden pokes Emiko's side to shut her up, to which she reciprocates the action childishly.

The platinum-blonde let out an exasperated huff, "Do you even know the guy? You saw what happened at the cafeteria today right? Because Oikawa--"

"Oikawa Tooru, third-year, captain of the boy's volleyball team and basically the heartthrob of the entire prefecture? Rai-kun, I learned who _you_ were in the first ten minutes of me being here three weeks ago, I learned who he was in _five_." She leans out of the way so the boy could copy down the first three answers of the worksheet. Yeah, math was definitely _not_ English.

"And can I just say, you two would be the biggest power couple of the whole of Miyagi. I mean, look at _you_ ," she does a quick up-and-down hand gesture at Raiden, "then look at _him_." She makes a subtle gesture two seats over towards the setter and Raiden nearly flushes bright red at the implications. "Every girl would lose their shit over it."

The holographic-blonde groans at that and rests his head on the table, another frustrating thought taking over, "That's just the thing Emiko-chan," his voice grows even quieter, "Even if it wasn't for the fact that his narcissism is an _ass_ , I don't know if he even _likes_ guys."

"Then just ask," she proposes, shrugging her shoulders lightly as she skims the page for the next math question.

Raiden scoffs and rolls his eyes, "You're terrible at giving relationship advice."

"Must be the asexual in me," Emiko retorts sarcastically, and the artist chuckles.

"Or it might just be you," The teacher passes by to check on their progress before Emiko can let out a fake offended gasp, the two snapping their heads down to make it seem like their working harder than they actually are. The teacher smiles when he sees Raiden and Emiko getting along so well, happy to see the new student adjusting so quickly.

The two partners weren't always like this though, at least not in the beginning. It took a solid two days before Raiden finally warmed up to having a girl as his partner for the year. Not that he usually has any problems with them, but he's been in numerous instances where the girls are often distracted by him or spend all their paired time trying to flirt. He was quickly awoken on their hird day together the brazen brunette had been fed up with Raiden's insistence on maintaining a polite distance.

Raiden distinctly remembers the girl dragging him aside after class and demanding an explanation to his 'shyness'. And when he'd jumped the gun on her and bluntly said 'I'm gay, and not interested', the girl was quick to knock him down with nearly yelling out 'And I'm asexual' before punching him in the arm. The rest is history.

* * *

_Oh fuck._ It's been a constant thought running through his brain since after lunch today. He's given about ten different opinions on outfits his fans have asked him about, and yet they don't seem to stop. During _gym_ too. 

Oikawa ducks and avoids the dodgeball thrown his way, then leans down to pick up a stray ball and whips it a where the other one came. He's no baseball player, but he's sure got an arm. The small group of third-year girls on his team cheer from behind him when he successfully hits Matsukawa, who was laughing with Iwaizumi at the other end of the court.

The setter gives his sly smile at his friend while the other boy goes to the side with a huff. Oikawa turns back and bathes in the girl's praises, appreciative of the attention. Soon, they all flock again when it seems like they won't be hailed with balls, and he silently sighs, just wishing to enjoy the game against his classmates. Although he'd much rather be playing volleyball, dodgeball's a better alternative to basketball. Seriously, how do people get the orange ball into that little hole?! One girl tugs at his arm to gain his attention again and he sighs at the invasion of thought.

_Has it always been like this?!?_ Oikawa's mind automatically goes back to that morning in order to find peace and comfort. He pictures the quiet walk to class, how he didn't have to maneuver his way to sit down, to the sight of that charming smile and smooth voice that leaves pleasant shivers up his spine and warmth across his tummy.

_No, stop._ His calm mind frenzies and he frowns.

_"Anyway, he isn’t my type. Too tall and flat.”_ The memory of Raiden's grin as he says it leaves a heavy pit at the bottom of his stomach, leaving him cold. As a kid he was never really self-conscious about his height, he actually sort of loved it since it proved as an advantage when on the court. Even as he was transferring from middle school to high school, he learned that the girls seemed to love it as well. Now he simply wants to shrivel up and never see the boy again.

With a small flush, Oikawa silently thanks whatever gods that are out there that he and Raiden aren’t in the same gym class. His train of thought is once again thwarted when another girl tugs on his arm, making him lose balance and nearly topple over.

He lets out an agitated shout, “Son of a—“ then stops himself when he sees the girl jump back with a guilty look. He forces his frustrations down and simply smiles, waving off her apology. “You’re fine, it was an accident.” _Ever heard of personal space?_

Oikawa really starts to wish he could just play this game, but his thoughts are cut short _again_ when a ball hits him square in the temple, knocking him to his ass and ultimately out of the game. The distraught setter runs a hand at his temple and looks over at Iwaizumi from his place on the floor, spotting the ace laughing hysterically. 

The brunet makes quick work of getting up and over to the sidelines, where he leans against the wall beside Matsukawa. The middle blocker is still recovering from his own fit of chuckles, and when Oikawa lands next to him in a heap, it takes him a little while to get the sentence out.

“W-what was all that about, _captain._ ”

“Shut up, Mattsun. I got distracted.” Oikawa excuses, his face pulled in a pout.

The raven hums amused, “Mhmm, and what could the Great Oikawa be distracted about? Surely those few hours of peace this morning didn’t make you soft, right?”

“Hmph. Of course not, in fact, I missed my fans this morning.”

* * *

“Fucking hell, were they always this demanding?!?”

Matsukawa, Hanamaki, and Iwaizumi all snicker evilly as Oikawa not so subtly pushes them into their club room. To say practice had been rough for the setter is clearly an understatement.

Before Oikawa could even get to the locker room to change, not only did the third-year girls from his class follow him there, but the other two years had accumulated too. Now that they've had time to digest that no, he and Raiden aren't a thing, they've got questions.

_"Why did Baisho-senpai have your contacts at the game yesterday?"_

_"Why were you and Baisho-senpai in the bathroom together during the game?"_

_"Why did Baisho-senpai go to your game?"_

The first two questions were easy enough for the brunet to answer with an even voice but the last one took him a second. It's a question that's been at the back of his mind since yesterday, but it hasn't had the chance to see the light until now. Why _was_ Raiden there yesterday? Surely not just to return Oikawa's contacts, since he'd seen the teen beforehand in the bathroom. The setter ends up bullshitting that question with some weird answer even he doesn't remember, not like the question really mattered.

Only it did, because then for the rest of practice, it was a constant thought running through his brain. It wasn't enough of a distract him to put him off his game, but the constant cheers from the open doorways of the gym was. He ended up having to sheepishly ~~beg~~ ask Iwaizumi if he could tell coach it was distracting _him._

The cheering isn't even anything new, not even the first-years are put off by it and they've only been practicing here for two weeks. Oikawa has to fight the embarrassed flush from his cheeks for the rest of practice. Which leaves now, where the setter had basically bulldozed through his fans with some crappy (literally) excuse that he had to use the restroom, and is now sitting on the bench and staring at his open locker.

"Well," Hanamaki starts, "It's offical, Oikawa-kun finally broke. The fame got to him and _you_ ," he points to Matsukawa, "owe me ramen this weekend."

Oikawa gives the pink-toned boy a half-assed glare and stands up, slipping off his shirt to begin changing. "I did _not_ break, Makki-chan. I swear, their questions were just super dumb today. I never said my fans were the smartest, only the most devoted."

"Sounds more like a cult." Oikawa's nasty glare gains a bit more momentum.

Iwaizumi sighs, "Alright, alright. Whatever it is, you better have it fixed by tomorrow Shittikawa. Can't have our captain and setter making more stupid mistakes than normal."

" _Iwa-chan!!_ "

Though rather harsh, Oikawa knows Iwaizumi's right. Today he was lucky to reel it in enough not to get too frazzled at practice, but tomorrow. Just the thought of going through all that attention for the _whole day_ makes him shutter. How did he ever get by before now?

_Because I've never had it any other way._

All he's ever known since his second year of middle school was his fangirls and their obnoxious attention and now that he's had a taste of peace? He never wants to go back. But what can make their affections less intense?!

Oikawa spends the rest of his time in the club room thinking about it. He can't just tell them to bug off. As much as he might want to, he doesn't have the guts. He wholeheartedly does appreciate all the love and encouragement he's been given, and would absolutely hate to seem ungrateful. Not only does it hurt his pride, but the genuine guilt would eat him up. So what to do?

_"I think it's very thoughtful of you all for respecting my boundaries and relationships, no matter if they're rumors of not. And I hope that in the future you'll continue to do the same again."_ Right, that's the whole reason for his peace and quiet this morning.

The brunet frowns at the thought. He and Raiden really aren't dating though, but the only way he knows how to get his fans off his back, at least sometimes, is through the hot artist.

_What if?_

With a hot flush, Oikawa shoots up and slams his locker shut, slinging his athletic bag over his arm and tossing the club room keys at Iwaizumi. He's gotta find the platinum-blonde now before his false courage runs out. Isn't he in photography club? Or was it art club? _Fuck._

No, he remembers, and the conversation back at the lunch table brings a small simmer to his stomach.

"Oi! Where're you going?!" His best friend shouts down the hall, catching the unwanted attention of a few of his fans. Only a handful have stuck around to see him. _Good, I can avoid this._

"Uh," Oikawa turns but continues to walk backward, "I'm fixing the issue." Saying it out loud, though cryptic, causes his courage to dim a bit. His steps falter, but then he sees the girls begin to walk towards him and he's reminded as to why he _needs_ to do this in the first place. He panics, "No! I-Um, I need to go, so I'll see you ladies tomorrow, okay?!" It's a little rushed and the girls look a little confused but it works, so Oikawa turns back around and makes his way towards the main building.

If he remembers correctly, the photography club and the newspaper club meet side-by-side. The only reason he knows this is because he's often on the front cover of their school's news. It's still early in the year, so clubs are staying later than normal to welcome their new recruits. Which is good news for Oikawa, because he's just in time to see the last few club members trickle out of the borrowed classrooms.

He comes up to a petite third-year, and by the way, she locks up the classroom door, he's guessing she'd the president.

"Um, excuse me?" Fuck, he's a little breathless. He shines a confident smile anyway, and from the way her eyes widen and a small blush falls over her cheeks, he knows she knows who he is.

"Oh! Hi, Oikawa-san, I'm surprised to see you here. Is everything okay?" She gives a warm smile and he's subconsciously grateful that she's not one of the stuttering messes. He can't handle that right now.

He brushes her off with a light wave, but he's more than eager to get on with things, "All good. Actually, you wouldn't happen to know where Raiden-kun is, do you? I heard he joined." _Fuck_ , he used the artist's given name. Oh well, the teen had insisted he use it anyway.

The girl looks a little taken aback, but doesn't question him, "Oh? Well, you just missed him, But I think I saw him head towards the west exit. If you--" The third-year setter quickly thanks the blonde girl and stops himself short of sprinting down the hall in the direction she'd mentioned. He misses the suspicious look she gives him, but hardly cares when he thinks that if his plan succeeds it'll hardly matter.

He doesn't recognize his own speed as his heart pounds in his ears, his heart racing more out of anxiousness than exertion. Where the hell is he?!?

Oikawa reaches the end of another hallway and turns the corner quickly, then crashes face-first into the back of someone. That person lets out a pained grunt and uses the wall to keep themselves and Oikawa from tumbling down. The setter shakes his head of any dizziness and ignores the pain shooting up his nose, ready to apologize quickly and continue on his search. Just then, the hand of the other person grabs his forearm and Oikawa catches sight of black and colored patterns peeking behind the rolled-up sleeves of a men's blazer.

"O-Oikawa-san, are you okay?" The setter doesn't give a reply and instead yanks the hand holding his arm and pulls him into the boy's bathroom around the corner of the hallway he's previously sprinted down.

He gives Raiden nothing short of a shove so he's at the sinks, then turns around, shuts the entrance door, and locks it. They stay like that for a moment, with Oikawa's forehead pressed against the door and Raiden's bewildered expression set on the brunet's back.

"Uh, what's all this about?" The smooth voice asks, and it's enough to pull Oikawa from his shocked daze and lift his head from the door. The teen takes a deep breath through his mouth (since his nose is weirdly stuffy) and releases a long exhale before turning around.

"We need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, im unsure if im writing Oikawa's character correctly? I really hope im doing him justice, since i really love this whole style of flipping between perspectives, not a lot of fics do that ive tended to notice. Anyway, leave some feedback!! do you like it so far? tell me if im writing a character wrong, i'll gladly take the criticism!!! thank you for reading, the next update will definitely come sooner!!!!!


	5. chapter four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This makes the end of my pre-written chapters! From now on chapters may be a little slower, but I’m hoping to keep up a schedule (like every other week?) and I’ll tell you when the next chapter comes out!! 
> 
> But I made art!! It’s right here:  
> https://imgur.com/a/ULbvrzk  
> I hope you like it hehe

RAIDEN is already bored. He'd spent the first ten minutes of the meeting listening with all his might to what Ito Hina was saying, but the girl was just so soft. Not to mention she'd barely even moved in her twenty minutes speech about what's to be expected by _every_ member here. The platinum-blonde has the slightest feeling that some of that was pointed towards him since it's probably well known between all club presidents about his incident at the art club. _Yikes_.

The only time he really grew interested was when the petite blonde has said something about some of the important activities their club had. Hina had very unenthusiastically stated that they'll be working with the student council this year to help with the third-year dance theme; _Frozen Memories_. Raiden thinks it's a little too personal, and a little on the nose for a bunch of third-years desperately trying to hold on to their youth before college. For them to ask the photography kids to take pictures of deep, intimate, and secluded moments others want to keep for themselves? But art is art, he guesses.

She'd also mentioned since the photography club doesn't house a lot of people, (something about needing to provide your own cameras, which are _expensive_ ), and the newspaper club doesn't have many members either, (that ones easy, it's _boring_ ), the two clubs usually work together to provide the photos of the other clubs and sports the articles feature. They'll figure out everyone's place next week though. _Thank god_ , because the meeting ended pretty promptly after that and Raiden was able to gather his things and leave as soon as possible.

He's excited to learn more styles of art, don't get him wrong, but the limited headroom of needing to follow the club agenda gets pretty old. Raiden's scrolling through his phone notifications and replies to a brief text with his mom that he's on his way home. She asks if he can stop at the convenience store for some milk (she's making milk bread for the women in her book club, _ugh_ ), and he replies again with a 'yes, of course' but before he could hit send, something fast and hard smacks him between the shoulder blades.

He stumbles a step and sticks a hand out to grab the wall, preventing the other teen from falling in the process. They grunt out in pain and Raiden turns to make sure they're alright, however when he does and sees that familiar mop of brown hair hunched over he gives a small gasp and automatically reaches for the boy's arm. "O-Oikawa-san, are you okay?"

The setter doesn't answer him, instead, he gives a powerful yank and suddenly Raiden is pushed into a bunch of sinks and he hears the bathroom door shut and lock. The artist takes a moment to gather his bearings, his eyes drawn to Oikawa's heaving back and Raiden frowns, "Uh, what's all this about?"

Raiden hears the boy sigh and sees Oikawa lift his head from the door, his panting now quieting down. He turns and faces the artist in an aggressive swing, and his eyes set hard and determined, “We need to talk.”

Shiny crimson slides down his chin and drips wetly, the trail's origin beginning over swollen lips and at a puffy nose. The blood is dark and thick, and browning at the edges where it’s dried, Raiden grimaces. _Maybe red doesn’t look good on him._

There’s a beat of silence and Oikawa begins to fidget, his shoulders slumping down and eyes averting from Raiden’s intense stare. The artist blinks rapidly to leave his thoughts and then swings around, plopping his bag on the ground against the wall and faces the sink.

“Whaaaaa-?” Oikawa garbles, then lets out a small squeak when his wrist is pulled towards the sink. Raiden sighs gently and guides a damp paper towel from his other hand to Oikawa’s nose. The brunet then gasps, obviously now feeling the slight pinch of pain that comes with pressing on his nose when his fingers reach out and take hold of the blond’s forearm.

The setters releases a hiss, “Owowowow...” and tears escape his clenched eyes as Raiden pinches his nose a little harder to try and stop the bleeding.

“I know, sorry. It’s almost stopped though, then we can talk.” Oikawa tenses again and jerks then whines when the movement pulls at his swelled nose. The artist shushes him gently again, body focused intently on the task at hand while his mind briefly strays to asking himself what the boy could want. _Does it have something to do with lunch?_

The two stay like that for a while, in silence, Oikawa tense and embarrassed, clinging desperately to the threads of confidence he'd had at the beginning of the encounter while Raiden solely focuses on the setter, his selfish eyes taking in everything he can about the beautiful boy before him.

Eventually, the bleeding stops, and Raiden is left with gently wiping at the stained skin of Oikawa’s lips, both holding their breaths the whole way through. Quietly, the artist finishes washing his hands and turns back to the now timid brunet. There’s a blush spread from his cheeks, to across his puffy nose to over his swollen mouth, and Raiden can’t help but breathe, “ _Pretty_.”

The murmur is loud in his ears, and when Oikawa’s head snaps up like lightning Raiden flounders with stammers, “I-I-I mean!! Uhhh—“ Oikawa would laugh at the way the teen was flopping around if he weren’t still trying to save himself from doing the same thing. “You wanted to talk?!?” The holographic blond nearly shouts, his voice cracking and he flinches, but Oikawa doesn’t notice.

Instead, the setter shoots up from his seat on the sink counter and creates some difference, his hand flying behind his neck, “Ummm yeah!! About that...” Oikawa takes a deep breath and runs his other hand down his face, “I wanna date.”

...

“ _WAIT_!! That came out wrong, I don’t mean _actually_ date, that’s ridiculous. But like, _fake date?_ Ya know, because we don’t _actually_ like each other right, and I’ve never dated a guy before, so I don’t even know if I really _like_ dudes like that so it’s really it’s just for the labels and stuff because I realized that being followed around by a bunch of girls actually _sucks_ and this morning was _soooo_ nice. _I MEAN_ not our conversation this morning, wait _no_ I mean our convo was _nice_ but I’m talking about the fact that just being _alone_ —“ The volleyball captain goes ridged and quiet when he suddenly feels a presence at his back, and the teen realizes that he’s been turned away and pacing the whole time. 

“So what’s this about you wanting to date me? _You have my undivided attention_.” Raiden’s gaze is unwavering when Oikawa turns around, and although the setter is a little taller, he practically shrinks against the bathroom door. The brunet then remembers lunches’ discussion about _bathroom encounters_ and suddenly the artist's gaze is much more intimidating.

Oikawa squeaks out, “You know what, never mind.” And goes to unlock and open the door but Raiden’s arm comes out and pushes it back closed, trapping the brunet in.

“Oh no, don’t tell me your confidence has disappeared, _Oikawa_ - _chan_ , I know what you want. Because all the girls avoided you this morning you’ve had a taste of freedom, and you’ve realized that being with me guarantees that it would be an everyday thing, hmm? So _now_ , you’ve come here to ask me to date you so that all that freedom doesn’t disappear forever. Did I get the gist?” The setters head bobs hesitantly, and he frowns.

The brunet harrumphs, “Just forget about it, I don’t care anymore.”

“Give me your phone,” Raiden demands, stepping back to give Oikawa room. The setter gives the other boy an odd look, the two locking gazes intensely before Oikawa huffs and breaks away, brushing past the other to grab the item from his abandoned bag.

With a scoff, Oikawa unlocks it and plops it into Raiden’s open palm, “What are you doing?”

“Here is my number,” the artist ignores his classmate's question and proceeds to take his own cell out, “Meet me at this address on Sunday at 2 and we’ll talk more about the details.”

The brunet squawks and snatches his device back, “I told you to just drop it, it was a ridiculous idea and the more I think about it the more I regret even coming to see you!!”

Raiden has to quickly mask the sharp flash of pain that the comment made, but he holds firm in his resolve, refusing to back down now. “Okay fine, then don’t come on Sunday. But if you change your mind tomorrow, you know where and when to find me.” The holographic blond gathers his bag, eyes never straying too far from the captain's defensive form as he makes his way to the bathroom door. “I’ll see you later, _Oikawa-chan_.”

* * *

He will most certainly _not_ be going to this cafe. Oikawa had gone home quite flustered and in shock yesterday, not daring to look at his phone notifications until he was safely tucked under his blanket and his favorite reruns of Japan’s National team were playing on his computer in the background. 

**_sexc rai-kun;p_ **

_hey meet me here at 2 on sunday ;)_

_Coco Cafe_

read 6:57 pm

A small flush comes across the boy's cheeks at the name and he quickly changes it. _The_ _audacity._ Oikawa debated over replying a blatant _"no"_ as his answer, but then he realized that he wasn't entirely set in that answer.

He opted not to answer back at all. Which leaves him in his current predicament. 

"Fuck... _fuck._ " Oikawa whispers to himself as he rounds a corner. It's actually sort of warm out, but the setter still stepped out in one of his biggest sweaters and a baggy pair of shorts, _just in case of course._ He also has his glasses on, deciding not to opt for contacts today with the nervous headache he woke up with. The butterflies in his stomach have been fluttering nonstop since the night before, and he's gone back and forth arguing with himself all night.

The teen grumbles, double-checking the address for the fifth time since he's stepped out this afternoon. Yup, this is the place. He lingers by the front door for a couple of seconds, sneaking some peeks inside the front window to try and spot that head of platinum blond. After a couple of paranoid glimpses, he concludes that Raiden isn't there. 

_Am I early?_ No, it's 2:13, he's a little late actually, thanks to his indecision. _Is this the wrong cafe?!_ He checks for the sixth time, no. Then another thought comes across Oikawa's mind and his veins run cold with embarrassment. _Am_ _I being stood up? Was he just teasing me?_ The captain then throws his hood over his face, a sad blush rushing to his cheeks. _Is this just some sick prank? I mean, he did say I wasn't his type after all._ The boy's heart jumps at that and he ducks down more, an overwhelming feeling to cry suddenly hitting him and his breath seizes. 

"Oh, I didn't think you'd actually come, Oikawa-san." 

* * *

_Stupid,_ Raiden slaps a hand over his face quite harshly as he walks through his front door. As soon as it closes he turns and rests against it, thumping his head back and shutting his eyes groaning. Mei looks up from her spot at the kitchen counter to greet her son but stops when she sees him. The artist remains at his place by the door, eyes closed as he thinks back to his actions in the bathroom not even an hour before.

The blond has no idea why he did what he did. Well, that's a _lie_ , he does, but he doesn't understand how he was put into that situation in the first place. _What did Oikawa mean?!_

_"I wanna date..."_

_DATE?!_ Raiden can recall the exact moment his focus immediately was hyper-driven to the setter. It was like he'd gotten an adrenaline rush, _Oikawa wanted him?!?!?_ Of course, then the volleyball player began to sprout some other nonsense and excuses for his previous declaration. The brunet was lucky that Raiden was actually hyperfocused on him or he might not have been able to understand what he was trying to say. At that point, the teen could see that his classmate might actually not have meant what he said, but the excitement was still there. 

So, he took a shot. It was risky, and Raiden basically forced himself to be as bold as possible while also trying to mask the shake in his voice. And then Oikawa _backtracked_. Raiden couldn't have that, so in a desperate attempt to save the conversation the boy had demanded for the setter's phone and the rest simply played out. He basically walked home on auto-drive, his focus a complete mess while he tries to grasp the events that had unfolded. And now he's home, and almost regretting everything. _Almost._

"Honey, is everything okay? Nothing bad happened on the way home right?!" Mei dries her hands with a clean towel and makes her way over, her interruption successful in breaking Raiden's train of thought. 

The boy hums, "Yeah, I'm okay, just thinking of something," his brows unfurrow from their tense state and he smiles softly down at his mom. "Hey, I'm going to the cafe tomorrow around 2ish, and I might head to Makki's after. I probably won't be home until after dinner, is that okay?"

"Of course dear, now," she accepts the kiss on the cheek and makes her way back to the kitchen, "did you bring that milk I asked for? Is it in your bag?" A long silence follows the question, and Mei turns back around to catch a guilt looking Raiden slowly try to sneak his way towards the hallway to their bedrooms. "Raiden??"

The frustrated tone makes the tall blond wince and he quickly straightens out, " _Sorrryyy_ , I'll get it and come back before I leave for the cafe, I promise."

"Okay, but you can't leave for the cafe until I see the carton in the fridge!"

* * *

Raiden's running late. The boy had overslept that morning and was now in a desperate race to get back home and put away the carton of milk in his hands. And then he had to get _dressed_ , he can't go to see Oikawa in sweats and an old t-shirt! And his hair is a mess, he's got eyebags he should cover and maybe he should have in _contacts—_

"Hey, don't forget your bag!!" Mei calls from the living room, stopping Raiden from rushing back out the door just barely looking decent. In a ploy to save time, he'd ended up forgoing the concealer and contacts, but did try and splash some water on his face to get rid of any remaining sleep. The flustered boy flashes a bright smile to his mother and grabs the bag from her hands, fleeing to the door and making a mad dash in the direction of the cafe. _1:56, I can make it._

He ends up being 10 minutes late and only stops with the brisk walk to something more normal as he turns the last corner. The artist vends himself adjusting his hair and clothes before he spots a hunched over the frame at the front door of the cafe, the slim figure sporting a rather cute navy blue sweater. With a furrowed brow, Raiden sticks out a hand to ask if they are okay, then catches a glimpse of their reflection in the window. 

The blond can't hide his smile, nor the relieved breath, "Oh, I didn't think you'd actually come, Oikawa-san." The boy in question lets out a squeak and snaps his head around to face Raiden. It only takes the boy a moment before he regains his composure and is greeting the holographic blond with a curt nod. 

* * *

The two stand in silence for a moment, taking in the appearance of one another and each thinking one damning thought: _Damn he looks good._ Then a second thought quickly follows through both Oikawa and Raiden respectfully;

_Fuck I'm underdressed!_

_Fuck I'm overdressed!_

"Uhh," Raiden begins, pushing aside his sudden embarrassment to instead try and remind himself that Oikawa came to _him_. "Let's head in."

The cafe is quaint but spacy enough that someone could have their privacy if they so wish. Oikawa is quick to grab a corner table of two away from the traffic of the ordering line. Raiden follows closely behind, and the two quietly set their things down. The setter's hands sweat and tremor lightly, his heart beating so erratically that he’s too nervous to move from his seat. _Pull yourself together damnit!!_

“Do you want anything?”

_Oh fuck, right. This is a cafe._ Oikawa makes a move to stand but slender fingers against his shoulder stop him. He plops back down. “It’s okay I’ll get it, what do you want?” _He’s paying?!?_ The setters stomach flutters.

Shit, he has to talk. “I-um, just, if they have any cold matcha stuff, an— uh, extra cream please.” Raiden’s gentle nod and smile makes Oikawa’s heart shoot off like a gun.

As Raiden turns to order, both boys take that moment to collect themselves and snap out of it. Right, they’re just here to talk about stuff, not because any of this is for real or anything. Oikawa’s heart slows and his hands stop shaking, while the doped smile Raiden had been sporting upon seeing the other has now dimmed.

Once they get their drinks and the static air between them goes dry, the brunet is the first to speak, “Uh, okay. So yesterday was... listen— after lunch, things went back to how it should’ve been. And it was _fine_ , buttt, I realized that I sorta liked how it was before, when they thought we were, ya know...”

Raiden raises an eyebrow, “Dating?”

The volleyball captain lets out a nervous chuckle, a flush brushing his cheeks and he runs a hand through his hair, “Yeah, _that_. A-anyway, I got this plan that if they knew that we were actually dating this time—“ his eyes widen, “not _actually_ , of course, only faking. But they would _think_ that we’re— holy _fuck_ this is _just_ like yesterday.” 

Oikawa closes his eyes and sighs, thinking hard about his next words and trying to keep at bay the dark crimson creeping up his neck as he feels sharp eyes poke into his face. “Look, all I need you to do is sit with me at lunch every once in a while, walk me to some classes, and then _maybe_ come to some of my games. The rumors originally started from just a prescription mixup right? So, if they see that we’re walking together and sitting together, it’s sure to blow up again.” Saying it out loud makes the reality that much harder, and Oikawa can tell he now has a solid grasp of the situation. _Easy_ , this actually is a pretty good plan. _Nice one Tooru._

“Okay... what’s in it for me?” Raiden takes a long sip of his dark roast coffee, sharp eyes locked onto the way the setter’s relaxed face suddenly pinches as though he hadn’t thought of that.

In all honestly, this has gone much better than how the artist had originally planned. He’d finally managed to calm his heartbeat after the young lady at the counter had handed over their drinks, and now Raiden is simply appreciating the view. _Has he been listening?_ For the most part, as soon as Oikawa stopped stuttering and began explaining his plan seriously. Before, the blond had a hard time paying attention, too distracted by the pretty expressions the other teen was making when he was flustered, which was a rarity within itself.

Raiden _really_ _shouldn’t_ be on board with this. He _shouldn’t_ have given Oikawa the invite here. He _shouldn’t_ have started their conversation yesterday morning. And he _definitely shouldn’t_ be entertaining the beautiful idea of the pretty boy in front of him, sitting in his arms as he—

Oikawa watches as Raiden’s eyes go unfocused, and for once he isn’t upset that the attention isn’t on him. God, he’s such an _idiot._ What could Oikawa possibly do in return to make this arrangement wor— _bathroom arrangements_.

At the same time, both Raiden and Oikawa flush a deep scarlet. The holographic blond chokes on his sip of coffee just as Oikawa nearly jumps with self-created anger and shock, “Did you think you could get a fuck out of me?!?”

The outraged whisper-shout certainly does not help Raiden regain his breath, instead it stutters its stop completely. _Oh geez._ “W-whAt?!” The artist's normally smooth voice cracks quite comically, and he has to try and slow his panicked classmate to keep from causing a commotion.

Once he somehow coerces the captain to sit down and stop glaring daggers into his forehead, Raiden is finally capable of speaking in a rough croak, “Where’d you get _that_ idea?”

“Well, you did a ton of shit in the bathroom last year, what _else_ would you get out of this arrangement?! Huh?!?” Oikawa cant stop the mirage of filthy images from leaving his head, but what’s most scary is the thought that if Raiden _did_ propose something like that, he wouldn’t be able to refuse.

_That’s why I asked._ Raiden isn’t sure of the answer himself, he can’t say the real reason he did this was just because he was scared that their bathroom interaction would be their last. But he didn’t think this far ahead. _What does he get from this?_

Naturally, his eyes travel all over the expanse of the cafe, a furrow in his brow as his eyes are drawn to the picture lined across the wall. They’re all pictures of customers, either candid or all smiles, each showing a different kind of joy or sense of serenity that all together envelopes the cafe. It’s a well-made portfolio display in his limited opinion on photography.

_Photography_. 

“Be my muse.” The teen shrugs, his eyes slowly leaving the last picture of the owners of the shop to meet with chocolate brown irises. Oikawa was pulled from his own thoughts when his eyes refocus and settle over Raiden’s.

There's a small silence and the artist can almost _see_ the other’s train of thought between all the furrowing and unfurling of his dark brows. “What would I do?” He questions, leaning back and taking another sip of his matcha. The cream foam on top leaves a small stain on his lip that he quickly licks away.

Raiden gulps then looks down to rummage his bag, emerging with his camera in his hands. “It’s simple really, you let me draw and take pictures of you when we’re together, and we have to meet up outside of school at least once a week for new settings.”

The setter frowns, “Why do you need a muse though? Aren’t you always drawing, like, _everything_? Wouldn’t you get bored drawing and taking pictures of the same thing?”

_Not if it's you_.

Raiden sighs, “Well, you see, the theme for the third year dance was revealed to the photography club yesterday.” This peaks the teen’s interest by quite a lot, for the third year dance is something that Oikawa is actually interested in. It is their final year of secondary school after all, and he’s a bleeding heart for that sort of stuff. “The theme is _Frozen Memories_ and they’re having all the photography kids take photos of their most intimate moments and use them for decorations during the dance.”

The brunet nods along as he swallows a sip of his drink, “Okay, so you want to use pictures of me because why?” The boy surpasses a wince at his own words at his next sentence, “This is a fake relationship, there’s nothing _intimate_ about it.”

“ _Exactly_ ,” Raiden rolls his eyes, “I’m not gonna share my personal relationships and experiences with our whole year, that’s stupid. We’ll already be faking this relationship, might as well create some fake intimacy while we’re at it.” The word ‘ _fake_ ’, is starting to become one Raiden despises.

“Okay,” Oikawa agrees, finishing the last of his matcha, a small pout on his face as he looks into his empty cup. _It was really good._

_SNAP_

A brief flash shines across the setter's face and when he looks up he’s met with the lenses of a camera. “Perfect,” Raiden looks at the photo he’d just taken, admiring the cute way Oikawa’s nose scrunches when he’s pouty. _It’s cute._ “Might as well seal the deal,” the artist stretches out his hand across the table, palm up. 

Oikawa only hesitates a second before he meets Raiden halfway, intertwining their fingers against the table. Where the blond’s fingertips are smooth, the brunet’s are rough and textured, and where the setter's hands are clean, the artists are stained with paint and idle ink markings. Tooru subconsciously squeezes his warmer palm against Raiden’s cooler one, and both boys have to suppress a shudder of anticipation for what’s to come in their future.

“So until the dance?”

“Until the dance.”

_SNAP_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and I’m done. I’m really proud of the ending of this chapter. The middle leading up to it? Not so much, I had such a hard time figuring out how I wanted to write it, and I’m still not 100% impressed, but I don’t think I can do any better.

**Author's Note:**

> (if you don't already know, when i say brunet, i'm talking about hair color. brunet is the masculine version of brunette) i'm already in love with this book. get ready for a lot of flirting, teasing, fluff, and ;)) I love reading your guys' comments and thoughts, it encourages me to update quicker!! also I’m new to ao3, so tell me if there’s anything wrong with formatting!!!


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